'We're flat-out:' Iconic business in talks to keep going

Andrew Korner
Journalist
Andrew was born and bred in Ipswich and has been at the QT since 2007. After starting out on the country rounds, he moved onto court reporting and then police and emergency services, which he has now been covering for the last three years. When he is not working on police rounds Andrew is busy sifting through the garbage of famous people, in search of ideas for his weekly column, the Naughty Korner. As there are very few famous people in Ipswich, Andrew is often forced to write his column about...

IT WAS said that nothing short of a miracle could save iconic Ipswich fishing reel business Alvey from closing.

Following an overwhelming response from the fishing fanatics of south-east Queensland and beyond, it appears there may be some kind of light at the end of the tunnel for the 97-year-old Carole Park manufacturer.

Director Glenn Alvey, who along with brother Bruce announced in July that the family business would stop making reels in August, confirmed yesterday that an "interested party" was in discussions with Alvey about a plan to keep going.

While careful not to promise anything at this stage, Mr Alvey said it was a positive development, following what had been an overwhelming response from the public since it was first announced the business was looking to close.

A sneak peek inside the Alvey factory, which is still at risk of closing permanently unless the owners can successfully negotiate a deal with an interested party.David Nielsen

"At the moment we are just flat-out making reels," he said.

"We have asked everyone to extend out to January at this stage. We still have 10 key staff working - unfortunately some have had to go and find more secure jobs, but most of our key staff are still here and we've had to put a few casuals on.

"The public response (since July) has been fantastic. With the number of orders we are getting, it's like the good old days again."

The current wait for a fishing reel from Alvey is about 10 weeks, depending on the type of reel ordered.

Mr Alvey said the factory was back to making reels from raw materials, because all stock had been sold off in the weeks following the original announcement of the pending closure.

The reels, favoured by many fisherman because of their overall quality and toughness, minimalist nature and lack of moving parts, are all hand made in the Ipswich factory.

The business was established by Bruce and Glenn's great-grandfather Charles in Brisbane in 1920 and has been at Carole Park since 1978.

Bruce and Glenn Alvey of Alvey Reels are shutting down their Carole Park factory after 97 years.David Nielsen